Power operated trash fork for hydraulic intake structures



L. W. LEACH July 6, 1965 POWER OPERATED TRASH FORK FOR HYDRAULIC INTAKE STRUCTURES 3 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Jan. 26, 1961 INVENTOR f5/72'@ 540W BY 000%@ (gemmes ATTORNEYS July 6, 1965 L. w. LEACH 3,193,104

POWER OPERATED TRASH FORK FOR HYDRAULIC INTAKE STRUCTURES Filed Jan. 26. 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENIOR BY (Sian/122.5*

ATTORNEYS L. W. LEACH July 6, 1965 POWER OPERATED TRASH FORK FOR HYDRAULIC INTAKE STRUCTURES 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 26, 1961 INVENT OR Z55/*fe z/ ff-,46H

. v, 9% MSW (y ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,193,104 POWER OPERATED TRASH FORK FOR HYDRAULIC INTAKE STRUCTURES Lester W. Leach, 2225 Glen Ellyn, @klahoma City, Okla. Filed Jan. 26, 196i, Ser. No. 85,139 4 Claims. (Cl. 2MB- 162) The present invention relates to means for removing collections of debris and the like from trash racks, screens and grills at hydraulic intakes.

More especially, the invention is directed to means for physically removing accumulated trash and the like from screens and grills, which may be disposed upstream of a moving body of water. The invention is useful particularly in connection with industrial and municipal installations, where water may be withdrawn from river, lake or comparable bodies of water, for use as a circulating and cooling medium as in steam-electric power plants, in water supplying works for municipalities, in processing water for chemical plants, for hydroelectric power plants, for lumbering and paper mill operations. In such usage it is required that objectionable precipitate or suspended driftwood, vegetable and accumulated impurities whether floating, suspended or sunk be removed from the water prior to liner filtration and use as aforesaid.

Problems.incident to the removal of such impurities and debris include overcoming the strong currents, forcing the debris against the screen during elorts of removal and the fact that the effort of removal requires sub-marine access to the materials. Furthermore, to remove debris by hand is a time-consuming, hazardous and not altogether successful process in view of the climatic and great pressure and forces involved in large bodies of water, portions of which are conducted from the large body for the purposes mentioned. In such operations, debris including trash, logs and the like are often completely submerged, and therefore, invisible to the operator.

Typical of the uses of the invention include the trashhandling facilities for a screen house at a river intake. Here automatic means are devised for opening and closing a grappling device by application of power through steel cables actuated by double electric or mechanical winch. Une may thus compact and keep under close control any load withdrawn from the upstream side of the conduit adjacent the screen thereof. Conventionally, loose trash of this type is dragged upward of a screen by engaging teeth into the mass of the trash from somewhere beneath the top of the accumulation, whereas the present invention is adapted to the compacted removal of trash or debris from the top of the lodged accumulation. In practice, this system prevents loss through the screen into plant intake.

Basically, the device consists of two matched sets of uniquely shaped tines arranged to open apart and close together in hinge-like fashion by application of power to a suitable mechanism at their upper extremities. When open, the tines form a grappling fork; when closed, they constitute a spacious and rigid receptacle for holding and removing trash and debris from the upstream face of a xed trash screen. In order to withstand strong currents,` support for the device against the lixed screen is provided by wheels at the upper extremity of the tines and by a cross bar or shoe attached to the lower extremity of the rear tines.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide means for automatically compacting and removing trash and debris from the upstream side of hydraulic intakes and the like, wherein a progressive top to bottom removal may be effected without danger of losing lodged debris to the intake of the conduit.

A further object of the invention includes means for lgwd Patented July 6, 1965 lCe the facile removal and transfer of accumulated surface and sub-surface debris at the situs of accumulation.

These and further objects will be apparent from the ensuing description and claims, wherein:

FIG. l is a view in side elevation of the invention system showing the general relation of iixed and moving parts to a conventional screen house, hydraulic intake;

FIG. 2 is an expanded view in fragment of the motive means for horizontal, vertical and opening and closing movement ofthe debris collecting instrument;

FIG. 3 is a View in front elevation of the debris collecting grappling element of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional View of the grappling element described in FIG. 3, taken along the lines 4 4 thereof, showing the instrument closed.

FIG. 5 is likewise a sectional view of the grappling element of invention taken along the lines 4-4 of FG. 3, illustrating the element as opened.

Referring to FlG. l, there is shown the complete debris removal assembly llil associated with a conventional conduit intake submerged in a body of water, a portion of the body being conducted through the intake. The overall system herein described comprises a vertical wall 112 deiining the intake 110 and lending support to a plurality of horizontally disposed rack-engaging frames 114. The rack of screen ilo is sloped downstream as is conventional. This screen 116 serves in the present instance to collect debris from the body of water as the current carries same in the direction of flow. Certain foreign objects will oat to the water line contiguous the rack and others will precipitate and some will suspend. Atop the rack 116 is a conventional grating M8 hinged thereto for access to the screen. The screen house is further defined by a forward abutment 120 constructed in interconnection with the rear wall 112, the abutment 12d) having an opening 122 adjacent the conduit intake 1li) to provide conduit intake.

Framework of the assembly includes a plurality of transverse beams supported at ends by the vertical uprights 132. Centrally of the supporting frame, I-beam guide 134 is provided to serve as a monorail transfer as Will lbe more fully explained hereinafter. While the debris removal assembly liiti represents a typical installation details of auxiliary equipment and structure may be varied to suit particular installation conditions and requirements.

Crane assembly 202 includes motor driven trolley 270 and stabilizing trolley 275 as shown in FIGURE 2. Motor means for driving the trolley are broadly shown at 272. Double hoist hanger 274 depends from the trolleys. As is best shown in FIGURE l, hoists 27S and 278' are mounted on hoist hanger 274. The respective hoists are provided with motive power by the electric motors shown and a suitable control panel 286 being provided adjacent the hoist motive means. Push button control 282 is connected electrically to the panel 280.

Referring now to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, the trolley and hoists are interconnected to the grappling assembly by cables 250 and 260 respectively. The hoist 278 serves the cables 26) and the hoist 278 serves the single power cable 250. The grappling assembly is suitably wheel-mounted upon a iixed axle 212 engaging the respective wheels 210, said axle having fixed contact with ends of tines 230 of the lower portion of the grappling device, to tix same against arcuate movement during operation.

The grappling devices 200 include a plurality of movable tines 220 spaced in parallel relation and pivoted to move arcuately about the axle 212 by mounting means 232, ring-like member 214, and plate 233 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. To secure the respective tines in spaced relation, plates 228 are Welded intermediate ends of the tines 226, said tines being secured at one end 222 by weldment to a common plate adjoining the ring-like member or pivot 214, curved by bending upon Ythemselves at224 to terminate in beveiled teeth 226 las shown. Thecounterpart tines 230 are likewise secured in spaced relation at one end by axle and the other 1Jy-welded plates ory cross,-

f bars 23S and 23S. Ends or" the tines 23d-project through and anchor to the axle 2l2, as will be apparent.

lle, wheels 2l@ are rotatably attachedto the ends of the cylindrical shaft 212.' Cross bar 238' is rigidly welded to the back face of the lower extremity of rear tines 234i, as shown in FIGURE 4 and FIGURE 5. l

Wheels 216 are of such suitablek diameter that they screen "flo as the device is raised or lowered, thus serving the double purpose of holding tines Z39 in parallel relationship with screen H6 and also preventing the collision of tines 230 with cross bolts which interconnect the plurality of bars Vin iixed screen 116.

A suitable arrangement of cables'ZSt) and 269 and sheaves 242 and 2454, enclosed in the'housings 240 and' ZlS, is provided for rotating the front set of tines arcu- Y ately about shaft 2l2 as the center of rotation, thus allowing the receptacle to be opened yor closed at the discretion of the operator by the application of power to thecables 25h and 260. f s. f

All of this operating mechanism is locatedvabove and entirely outside the limits of the receptacle, thusuniquely 35 providingassurance that the operating mechanism cannot be fouled by an overload'of trash, and also that when the receptacle is opened to its full width all trash willl readily rfall out due to its own weight without requiring any auxil- Y' iary cleaning or unloading devices.`

The pulley system 241 includes a transversely disposed ,A

central sheave 242 journalled within the housing 240, said housing being appropriately connected to the axle VV212., The sheave 242 provides a lifting fulcrum to accommo-V` 242 accommodating the respective cables 26) anchoring?,

in crank or lug 215 to` effect closing of the tines 22) (FIG. 4).y Y

Operation In operation, the operatorrwill have push button conf trol to transfer the loaded or unloaded grapple `by trolley from point of pick up to point of deposit.

ofthe grapple or power operated trash fork. As` previously indicated, the Winches which hoist also serve to open I and close the grapple; A The'winches are synchronized to permit as in closing an idling moment to cable 25d While tension is applied to the cables 266i. In opening, an idle or slackening is applied to the cables Zellas the cable 2% is winched upward whereupon by further and' braked re- Y laxation'of tension` on the cables 266i, the grapple may be lowered as it rides downward along the rack 116. Releasing the brake ofy winch accommodating cabletl'nowV permits closure of the grapple'as cable 2,69 is tensedV and the load raised whereupon a continuous'V tension andpow- Y erful registry of opposed tines 220 is applied load.Y A

Whereas the invention has been `described with reference to hydraulic submerged systems,'it will be apparent against4 the that it may be adaptedy to other and related fluid transfer systems where problems` of precipitate and waste disposal Thesev same' controls direct the raising, lowering, opening and closing f d i Ymayrarise. The invention thus bears the scope of the 'appended claims.

I claim: Y l 1. Ina device for the ,transferv of accumulated debris, -the improvement in a combination comprising: Y

va static screen disposed in acontinuous flow path of a debris contaminated iiuid; a debris grappling system operably associated with the screen' including debris grappling means reciprqocably movable Valong an` upstream` face of the screen, and first and second power means for yopening and closing said grappling means, and for reciprocably moving Vsaid grappling means with respect tosaid screen, said grappling means including a horizontally oriented axle, i y l iirst and second wheels rotatably mounted onr opposite ends of said axle, said wheels engaging the upstream face of said screen and maintaining said axle spaced parallelto said screen,

a plurality of fixed tines having free ends and having iixed ends, said fixed endsibeing fixedly secured to said axle between said whee1s, said fixed tines extending radially froin said axle, uniformly turning and extending substantially parallel to said screen adjacent the upstream face thereof, l

a iirs't'horzontal plate ,interconnecting said free end of said fixed tines,

at least one ring-like member, j

mounting means rotatably supporting said at least one ring-like member on said axle,

Y a second plate iixed to said ring-like member and extending therefrom generally radially, Y

a plurality of movable Vtines having first ends fixed to said second plate spaced from said ring-like member and having second ends curving towardsaid free ends of said fixed tines, v l

means connectedA to said fork and to said iirst power means foropening said fork,

' flexible means connected to said grappling means and k,to said second power means, whereby actuating said second power means ,closesl said grappling means and continued actuating of said second power means Y raises saidgrappling means. f

l 2. The improvement'of claim 1 additionally comprising at least one lug radially extending from said at least (one, ring-like Vmember oppositely'of said second plate, and

whereinsaid'tiexible means comprises at least one cable secured. to said at least one lug' and operatively connected lto said second power means.y

3. In a device for the transfer'of accumulated debris, the improved combination of: l

, a fixed screen .within Athe channel water; y Y a grappling'V system adapted to reciprocal movement over an upstream face of said screen;

a vtrack spaced vertically over said screen;

a trolley including rollers riding said track;

motive power means supported by ysaid trolley;

a fork suspendeclfrom said lmotive: power means, said p ower'means reciprocating said fork over said'screen, liftingsaid fork from said screen vand selectively opening and closing said fork, said fork including Y an horizontal axle, Y

first and. secondr screen Y'engaging lwheels rotatably Y 'mounted on opposite ends of said axle, spacing said axleY parallel to said screen,

a ,fixed jaw comprising fixedV tines having fixed ends of a moving body of 'securedy in saidQaxle, and having free ends remoteV from; said fixed ends, saidtines extendingV radially from said axle, uniformlyturning, and extending substantially parallel to said screen adjacent the upstream face thereof, said fixed jaw abutting ysaid wscreenand being movable between said debris and Y said screen, Y

'j a movable jaw including Y at least one ring-like member,

mounting means rotatably supporting said at least one ring-like member on said axle,

a second plate xed to said ring-like member and extending therefrom generally radially,

a plurality of movable tines having irst ends fixed to said second plate spaced from said ring-like member and having second ends curving toward said free ends of said xed tines,

means connected to said fork and to said power means for opening said fork, and

llexible means connected to said fork and to said power means, whereby actuating said power means closes said fork, and continued actuating of said power means raises said fork.

4. The improvement of claim 3 additionally comprising at least one lug radially extending from said ringlike member oppositely of said second plate, and wherein said llexible means comprises at least one cable se- 6 secured to said at least one lug and operatively connected to said power means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS REUBEN FRIEDMAN, Primary Examiner.

15 HERBERT L. MARTIN, GEORGE D. MITCHELL,

Examiners. 

1. IN A DEVICE FOR THE TRANSFER OF ACCUMULATED DEBRIS, THE IMPROVEMENT IN A COMBINATION COMPRISING: A STATIC SCREEN DISPOSED IN A CONTINUOUS FLOW PATH OF A DEBRIS CONTAMINATED FLUID; A DEBRIS GRAPPLING SYSTEM OPERABLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE SCREEN INCLUDING DEBRIS GAPPLING MEANS RECIPROCABLY MOVABLE ALONG AN UPSTREAM FACE OF THE SCREEN, AND FIRST AND SECOND POWER MEANS FOR OPENING AND CLOSING SAID GRAPPLING MEANS, AND FOR RECIPROCABLY MOVING SAID GAPPLING MEANS WITH RESPECT TO SAID SCREEN, SAID GRAPPLING MEANS INCLUDING A HORIZONTALLY ORIENTED AXLE, FIRST AND SECOND WHEELS ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON OPPOSITEENDS OF SAID AXLE, SAID WHEELS ENGAGING THE UPSTREAM FACE OF SAID SCREEN AND MAINTAINING SAID AXLE SPACED PARALLEL TO SAID SCREEN, A PLURALITY OF FIXED TINES HAVING FREE ENDS AND HAVING FIXED ENDS, SAID FIXED ENDS BEING FIXEDLY SECURED TO SAID AXLE BETWEEN SAID WHEELS, SADI FIXED TINES EXTENDING RADIALLY FROM SAID AXLE, UNIFORMLY TURNING AND EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO SAID SCREEN ADJACENT THE UPSTREAM FACE THEREOF, 